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Joan Crawford Recordings

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Joan Only

The Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia "Show Music on Record" section by Jack Raymond lists the following recordings by Joan and on what label they're available. (This song list, though, is incomplete; see the below Silver Screen Star Series for an almost complete list):

Hollywood Revue of 1929:

1929 medley by Colonial Club Orch: VOCALS: uncredited. (78/Bruns 20095)

1929 medley / fox trot by Ben Selvin and His Orchestra (78/Columbia/5627)

 

 

Records by Cliff Edwards of original cast: "Singin' in the Rain" (78/Col 1869-D)

Joan Crawford: "Gotta Feelin' for You" (That's Entertainment: MCA 2-11002; Curtain Calls: 100/23; JOAC X-20; That's Entertainment Anthology CD/Rhino R2-72182 and R2-73191)

 

Montana Moon (1930):

1930 record by Cliff Edwards of orig cast. "The Moon Is Low" (78/Col 2169-D)

Soundtrack. Joan Crawford, chorus: "Montana Call" (Curtain Calls: 100/23)

 

Possessed (1931):

1931 record by Joan Crawford of orig cast. "How Long Will It Last?" (78/Vic mx PBS-68307; Curtain Calls 100/23; Hollywood Sings: Living Era(E) AJA-5011; Hooray for Hollywood: CD/Conifer(E) TQ-157.)

 

Dancing Lady (1933):

"Heigh Ho, the Gang's All Here" (That's Entertainment: MCA 2-11002; Curtain Calls: 100/23; Photon: JOAC X-20; Fred Astaire at MGM:  CD/Rhino R2-72828)

"Let's Go Bavarian" (Curtain Calls: 100/23; Photon: JOAC X-20)

Art Jarrett, Joan Crawford: "Everything I Have Is Yours" (Curtain Calls: 100/23)

Nelson Eddy: "Rhythm of the Day" (Rodgers & Hart in Hollywood: JJA Records: 19766)

 

The Bride Wore Red (1937)

"Who Wants Love?" (Curtain Calls: 100/23)

 

Mannequin (1938)

"Always and Always" (Curtain Calls 100/23; Those Sensational Swinging Sirens of the Silver Screen: CD/Vintage Jazz Classics 1002-2; Did You Know These Stars Also Sang? CD/Jasmine(E) JASCD-147)

 

Ice Follies of 1939

"It's All So New To Me" (US 78 rpm =  Victor 26205-A ; British 78 rpm = B8909)*

*The back side of this 78, also sung by Joan, is "I'm in Love with the Honorable Mr. So and So," a song originally from Society Lawyer, in which Joan does not appear.

(This song also appears on: Hollywood Party: Pelican 130; Curtain Calls: 100/23; Devil's Sister: JOAC X-20; Hollywood Sings: CD/ProArte CDD-509; Why Ever Did They? CD/Flapper(E) PAST-CD-9735; The Great Entertainers: CD/Intersound 1051/1054)

"Something's Gotta Happen Soon" (That's Entertainment: CD/Rhino R2-73192)

 

Above Suspicion (1943)

"A Bird in a Gilded Cage." (Curtain Calls: 100/23)

 

Flamingo Road (1949)

"If I Could Be With You." (Curtain Calls: 100/23)

 

 


 

Untamed

 

1929 "Chant of the Jungle." 78-rpm from RCA Supertone.
Side A (9687-A) is "Chant of the Jungle" by Freed-Brown from Untamed.
Side B (9687-B, not pictured here) is "I'm Following You" from the film It's a Great Life.

 

 

 

 


 

Ice Follies of 1939 (1938 recordings)

 

First two rows: 12-inch 78-rpm one-sided MGM production disc of "It's All So New to Me."

 

 

    

 

 

Below:  US 78 "It's All So New to Me" (from Joan's Ice Follies) backed with "I'm in Love with the Honorable Mr. So and So" (sung by Joan but originally from a non-Joan film, Society Lawyer).  Bottom row:  UK 78 of same songs.

 

 

 

   

 

 


 

Mannequin (1937 recording)

 

12-inch (78 rpm) MGM test pressing of "Lamp on the Corner."

 

 

   

 

    

 

 

 

 


 

Silver Screen Star Series: Joan Crawford

(1976, Silver Screen/Curtain Calls 100/23)

This collection includes almost all of Joan's recordings.

 

Alan Eichler's back-cover notes:

 

Joan Crawford. The name alone instantly conjures up the very essence of Hollywood. Her talent, beauty and durability have combined to make her the longest-reigning star in the history of the silver screen. No role was beyond her reach and whether the part called for her to dance with Fred Astaire or lace up a pair of ice-skates, she gave it all. With the single exception of "Torch Song," her singing voice was always her own and can be heard on every additional selection in this album. Even in "Torch Song," Miss Crawford's voice can be heard singing along with that of her dubber in what must probably be the most unusual duet in any movie musical! With this album, Curtain Calls proudly offers a complete musical portrait of this great star. We know you'll enjoy it.

 

Note: Miss Crawford's only other commercially-issued recording, "I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak," can be heard on the RCA album "Hooray For Hollywood," LPV 579. Another 1939 recording, "Tears From My Inkwell," lies somewhere in the RCA vaults.

 

Side 1 (running time: 28:50)
Hollywood Revue (1929):
Gotta Feelin' for You - introduced by Conrad Nagel
Untamed (1929):
Chant of the Jungle
That Wonderful Something is Love - with Robert Montgomery
Chant of the Jungle
Montana Moon (1930):
Montana Call - with chorus
How Long Will it Last? - Unissued 1931 recording with Gus Arnheim's Orchestra
Dancing Lady (1933):
Everything I Have is Yours - with Art Jarrett
Heigh-Ho The Gang's All Here/Let's Go Bavarian - with Fred Astaire and chorus
The Bride Wore Red (1937):
Who Wants Love?
Mannequin (1937):
Always and Always
Verdi: "Recordatus" - Rare private recording, possibly with Rosa Ponselle, circa 1938.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: In a private letter to a fan in 1976, Joan expresses knowledge of this album and says that this Verdi piece was recorded with a young singer/actress named Betty Jaynes, NOT Rosa Ponselle.)

Side 2 (running time: 29:10)
I See Your Face Before Me - Rare private recording, circa 1938
Ice Follies of 1939 (1939):
It's All So New to Me (commercial recording)
I'm in Love with the Honorable Mr. So and So - 1939 commercial recording
When Ladies Meet (1941):
I Love Thee - with Greer Garson
Above Suspicion (1943):
A Bird in a Gilded Cage - with Fred MacMurray
Flamingo Road (1949):
If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight) - with dialogue by Zachary Scott
Torch Song (1953):
You Won't Forget Me - India Adams
Two-Faced Woman - India Adams
Tenderly - India Adams and Joan Crawford, with dialogue by Marjorie Rambeau
George Fischer Show (12/24/49) - Christmas Eve at home with Joan and her children

 

 


 

The Devil's Sister (Photon: JOAC X-20)

 

Side 1 is a recording of Joan's 1961 TV appearance on Zane Grey Theater's "One Must Die" (CBS). Side 2 is a collection of recordings of Joan songs dating back to 1929.


From the front cover: "Starring Miss Joan Crawford in her classic performance 'The Devil's Sister,' a story of emotional cruelty and greed in a love-starved town that time forgot. Plus rare air checks unobtainable before." (Click here to read the essay by Jacque LeStrop on the back of the LP.)

 

 

Tracks:

 

Side 1

The Devil's Sister [1961]

 

Side 2

Gotta Feelin' For You [1929]

It's All So New to Me [1939]

I'm in Love with the Honorable Mister So and So [1939]

Dixieland Jazz (comedy skit) [1952]

The Lamp on the Corner [1938]

Hi Ho! [1933]

Let's Go Bavarian! [1933]

 

 


 

Joan Crawford Live at Town Hall

(1978 DPA 2-1402; CD re-issue early 2000s Deja Vu 1016)

 


 

A recording of Joan's live appearance at Town Hall on Sunday, April 8, 1973. Part of the John Springer Series, hosted by Springer. To read a transcript of the interview, click here.

 

John Springer's notes from the back cover:

 

Sunday night, April 8, 1973, at Town Hall, New York. Who could know then that it would be the last official public appearance of Joan Crawford?

 

It was one of the nights in the Legendary Ladies series where Greats of the Film World were paid tribute by a showing of most memorable scenes from their finest pictures. And then the Lady herself was there -- the Goddess in the flesh -- greeted by standing, screaming, bravoing ovations. Bette Davis was first, then Myrna Loy and Sylvia Sidney. Later would come Rosalind Russell, Lana Turner and others.

 

But this night was Joan Crawford's -- one never to be forgotten by the lucky few who were able to share it. It was a night filled with memories as Flaemmchen and Mildred Pierce, Crystal and all the others in the Crawford gallery had their moment on screen. And then it was Joan herself -- lively and funny, candid and human, talking about herself in a way she had never done before.

 

That night was recorded -- and that's what this album is. It's Joan Crawford the way we all want to remember her.

 


Town Hall CD.
Original Price: Unknown, but Sides C and D, the actual interview portion, have been seen on CD on eBay lately for around $10 from Deja Vu Records, including a bonus mix by Sando called "Learn to Feel," which consists of lines from the interview over the backbeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Narrations

 

The Littlest Stork (1953, RCA Victor)
Description:
Reading of the Charles Tazewell story by Joan. Music conducted by Andre Previn. 45 RPM.

 

  

 

 


 

Soundtracks

The Best of Everything      The Caretakers      Female on the Beach      Hollywood Canteen      Humoresque

 Johnny Guitar       Rain      Torch Song     What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

  

 

The Best of Everything

 

Title song sung by Johnny Mathis, written by Cahn/Newman.

Academy Award nomination for Best Music (Original Song).

Released 1959 on Columbia in US and on Fontana in UK.  US Billboard peak: #62.  UK peak: #30.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original LP release: Sept. 1959

CD re-release: Nov. 2001, Film Score Monthly Golden Age Classics, Vol. 4, No. 11

 

Music composed and conducted by Alfred Newman (nominated for an Oscar for the title song along with lyricist Sammy Cahn). Orchestrations by Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2001 CD Tracks:

 

Main Title  (sung by Johnny Mathis) 4:58

Farewell to Eddie 0:53

Goodnight 1:08

The Auditions 0:46

The Apartment 2:00

Who Wanted It 0:50

Amanda 1:19

London Calling 3:20

The Radio 3:37

Barbara and Sidney 1:05

We Meet David 2:24

Gregg (New York) 2:03

The Pied Piper 2:02

The Rape (source) 1:33

Then Let Go—Now 1:01

The Real Kiss 3:57

I'm Busy Tonight 1:43

End of Play 0:38

The Corsage 1:06

Gregg's Dementia 2:27

The Pillow Case 1:10

I Won't Be Your Mistress/Death for Gregg 5:06

End Title 2:38

 

Total Time: 48:21

 

Bonus Material

The Best of Everything (demo) 3:08

Again (Lionel Newman) 3:12

Something's Gotta Give (Johnny Mercer) 1:23

Kiss Them for Me (Lionel Newman/Carroll Coates) 1:15

April (piano) 0:59

The Cafeteria (incomplete stereo) 3:14

Who Wanted It (mono) 0:50

London Calling (mono) 3:20

Barbara and Sidney (mono) 1:05

Gregg's Dementia (mono) 2:27

Street Scene (temp music) 1:42

 

Total Time: 22:54

Total Disc Time: 71:14

 

 


 

 

The Caretakers (1963; Ava Records A-31 and AS-31)

Music composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein

Duration: 23:07

Click here to see back of album with credits and description of film/album.

 

 

One of the shortest soundtrack albums associated with a major movie of the 1960s, The Caretakers is also something of a throwback to Elmer Bernstein's work of the previous decade. The album itself is a bit schizophrenic, in that the first side is steeped in a highly accessible light jazz sound, reminiscent at times of the composer's music for pictures such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). It is a bit smoother in places, however, with the obvious aim at pop appeal on numbers such as "Take Care," "Blues for a 4-String Guitar," and, most of all, the highly danceable "Birdito." And this part of the album marks a fun interlude between more substantial and flavorful Bernstein scores before and after, and obviously didn't require much heavy lifting by anyone concerned at the time -- and it's clear that the musicians are having a great time here. Side two, in contrast, is much more dramatic programmatic music, aimed at highlighting specific harrowing incidents in the picture, and is a lot less accessible -- but it is also a lot more interesting, especially a slow, string- and reed-driven interlude called "The Cage." "Electrotherapy" is effect music that makes excellent use of tuned percussion. It's all first-rate music, the light and "heavy" sides of the album alike, and the only flaw is that there isn't a little bit more of it, and the musicians themselves aren't credited. ~AllMusic review by Bruce Eder

 

Tracks:

 

Side 1

1. Black Straight-Jacket
2. Blues for a 4-String Guitar
3. Take Care
4. Birdito
5. Party in the Ward

 

Side 2
1
. The Caretakers (Main Title)
2
. The Cage
3
. Electrotherapy
4
. Day Hospital
5
. Seclusion
6
. Finale

 

 


 

Female on the Beach  (RCA Victor, 1955)

 

45 rpm promo:

 

 

 

 

78 rpm official release:

 

   

 

 

 


 

 

CD cover.Hollywood Canteen (CD: Great Movie Themes, 1997)

Description: Of the 20 songs, the first 13 listed below are from Joan's 1944 film Hollywood Canteen. The other 7 are from various other musicals, including 2 from Joan's '33 film Dancing Lady: "My Dancing Lady" and "Rhythm of the Day."

 

Canteen's music was nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Music/Original Song for "Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart"; Best Music/Scoring: Ray Heindorf; Best Sound/Recording: Nathan Levinson.

 

 

 

 

 

Tracks:

 

1. Hollywood Canteen

2. One O'Clock Jump

3. What Are You Doin' the Rest of Your Life

4. The General Jumped at Dawn

5. We're Havin' a Baby

6. Tumblin' Tumbleweeds

7. Don't Fence Me In

8. Gettin' Corns for My Country

9. You Can Always Tell a Yank

10. Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart

11. Ballet in Jive

12. The Bee

13. Voodoo Moon

14. Gypsy Dance

15. My Dancing Lady

16. Rhythm of the Day

17. Lulu's Back in Town

18. Too Marvelous for Words

19. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

20. With Plenty of Money and You

 

 


 

 

Humoresque  (1946: Columbia Masterworks set MM-657, four 78-rpm records)

 

    

 

Click on either cover above to see larger versions of both.

Dvorak: Humoresque
Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Fantasie (arr. Waxman)
Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen
Bizet: Carmen - Fantasy (arr. Waxman)

Isaac Stern, violin; Oscar Levant, piano
Orchestra conducted by Franz Waxman
Recorded August 14, 1946 (except the Wagner)
Link (FLAC files, 87.39 MB)
Link (MP3 files, 55.99 MB)

Info from shellackophile.blogspotcom:

The Wagner fantasie is the only work played uninterruptedly in the picture (as its climax, in fact), so it was dubbed from the soundtrack; the other pieces were studio recordings.

The story goes that Warner Brothers originally wanted Jascha Heifetz for the job of playing the violin on the soundtrack, but he demanded more money than Jack Warner was willing to pay, So "J.L." said "we'll get a talented kid to do it," went to San Francisco to hear Stern in a recital, and hired him on the spot. It was undoubtedly a big boost to Stern's career. He was all of 25 years old, and had just begun recording for Columbia.
 

Info from popsike.com:

Violinist Isaac Stern served as musical advisor, and the film includes close-ups of Stern's hands playing the violin, ostensibly the hands of Garfield. Stern (not Garfield) was the actual solo violinist on the movie's soundtrack. Oscar Levant, who played Sid Jeffers, was a celebrated pianist and it is Levant's piano playing that is on the soundtrack.

Parts of these classical music pieces are heard in the film:

  • Antonín Dvorák: Humoresque Op. 101 No. 7, in G-flat Major
  • Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee
  • Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde and especially its final Liebestod
  • Édouard Lalo: Symphonie espagnole
  • Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet
  • Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
  • Brahms: Violin Concerto
  • Brahms: Waltz in A-Flat Major, Op. 39 No. 15
  • Bizet: Carmen suite
  • Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs)
  • Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
  • Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2
  • César Franck: Violin Sonata
  • Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto
  • Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
  • Dmitri Shostakovich: Polka
  • Bach: Sonata in G Minor

Songs in the film:

  • George Gershwin (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics): Embraceable You
  • Cole Porter: You Do Something to Me
  • Cole Porter: What Is This Thing Called Love?

 

 

Humoresque  (1/13/98: Nonesuch CD)

 

   

 

Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg interprets music from the film and other related songs, accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra.

 

CD Tracks:

 

1. Humoresque No. 7 for piano in G flat major, B. 187/7 (Op. 101/7)
2. Humoresque, film score: City Montage
3. You do something to me
4. Carmen Fantasy for violin & orchestra
5. Embraceable You, song (from Girl Crazy, musical)
6. Sonata for solo violin No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 Presto
7. The Tale of Tsar Saltan (Skazka o Tsare Saltane), opera in 4 acts with a prologue Flight of the Bumblebee, arr by Franz Waxman
8. Symphonie espagnole, for violin and orchestra in D minor, Op. 21 First Movement
9. What is this thing called love (from the movie Night and Day)
10. Tristan und Isolde Fantasie, for piano, violin & orchestra
11. Humoresque No. 7 for piano in G flat major, B. 187/7 (Op. 101/7)

 

 


 

Johnny Guitar

 

Single:

Title song sung by Peggy Lee (written by Lee and Victor Young); initially released in 1954. Below: Decca 45 single covers (at right, 1958 from Japan).

 

    

 

Description from Ivan Santiago-Mercado's Peggy Lee site:  Although "Johnny Guitar" is often cited as one of Peggy Lee's most beloved and memorable interpretations, her original recording does not seem to have made much of an initial impression in the United States. As a matter of fact, there is no trace of "Johnny Guitar" in the American charts. Part of its lackluster national performance seems to have stemmed from the fact that Decca deemed "Autumn In Rome" the main side of this single, thereby bringing more promotional attention to that side.

Both sides were movie themes. "Johnny Guitar" was the one on which the label should have garnered its attention because a singer under its contract (Peggy Lee) had written it and would be heard singing it in the film. Meanwhile, Mercury Records singer Patti Page had been the one enlisted to perform "Autumn In Rome" on the other movie. It should be granted, however, that the film
Johnny Guitar was poorly received and critically panned in the United States. Decca might have foreseen the poor reception, thus relegating the song to a B status from the outset.

On the other hand, the movie
Johnny Guitar was widely applauded and highly admired in France, Spain, and other countries. Accordingly, the Peggy Lee theme achieved its greatest impact abroad, especially in Europe and Japan. Among Europeans, Italians proved especially receptive to this Peggy Lee-Victor Young composition: five versions of the number were released to the market in 1955. With the passing of time, American listeners ended up catching up to the song's merits, and falling under its allure, too. Similarly, the movie has been re-evaluated in American soil, and it is today ranked as gender-bending, campy-yet-superior cult masterpiece.

The 1954 release date belongs to the 78-rpm disc and the first of the two 45-rpm discs. Also American, the second 45 is a reissue. Its date is unknown, but presumed to fall within the first half of he 1960s. As my previous comments imply, there are numerous foreign versions of this single, with Japan at the count's forefront.

Below left: Italian single (1955). Below right:  Spanish EP (1956).

    

 

 

Soundtrack:

 

Citadel LP (1981). Music composed and conducted by Victor Young. Click on back-cover photo (right) for more information.

 

  Click for larger photo.

 

Soundtrack Factory CD (1999).

 

 

 


 

Rain

1980s: Caliban 6048.

  


LP containing the entire Rain film (dialogue, music, etc.), and featuring the songs "Rain Theme," "St. Louis Blues," "The Ships Sail In...Sail Out," and "Wabash Blues."

 


Torch Song

MGM U.S. LP (1954). Vocals by India Adams. Piano by Walter Gross. Musical direction by Adolph Deutsch.

 

Side 1:

Blue Moon  (Rodgers - Hart)

You're All the World to Me  (Lane - Lerner)

Follow Me  (Adolph Deutsch; vocals: India Adams)

Once in a While  (Edwards - Green)

 

Side 2:

Tenderly   (Gross  -  Lawrence)

When a Fool Falls in Love (Walter Gross; vocals: India Adams)

I Don't Know Why  (Ahlert - Turk)

You Won't Forget Me  (Spielman - Goell; vocals: India Adams)

 

Click on either LP photo below to see larger versions of both.

 

 

MGM Brazilian LP:

 

 

 

 


 

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? single (MGM, 1962)

Description: Side 1: "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" sung by Bette Davis and Debbie Burton. Side 2: "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" sung by Debbie Burton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Collections

    Hollywood Collectables CD

     

Academy Award Winners on the Air (1980, Sandy Hook/Radiola Recording)
The Classic Movie Musicals of Nacio Herb Brown (1980)

Cocktail Hour: The Vamps (2000, Columbia River) Joan song: "How Long Will It Last?"

Hollywood: The Collectables [sic]  (1989, Deja Vu)  CD. 25 tracks from various Hollywood stars. Joan sings "I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak."

Hollywood Party (1974)
Hollywood Sings: Stars of the Silver Screen (1982, 1989: ASV/Living Era) The 1982 CD has Joan's "How Long Will It Last?"
Hooray for Hollywood (1970). RCA: LPV 579. Features "I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak."

The Radio Years: Early Film Recordings from Hollywood 1928 - 1936 (1996, Enterprise) Joan song: "Chant of the Jungle."

The Radio Years: "Trust In Me": The Old America on the Air (1997, Enterprise) Joan songs: "I'm in Love with the Honorable Mr. So-and-So" and "It's All So New to Me."
Sensational Sirens of the Silver Screen (1991)
Why Ever Did They? (1990) 

 


 

Tributes

 

Charles DeForest Sings Joan Crawford & Eleanor Powell

1973. Flax Records. (LP recorded October 19, October 25, and November 8, 1972.)   

WorldCat.org info.  1996 NYTimes DeForest obit.

 

On Side A, Manhattan chanteur DeForest performs the following 6 songs originally sung by Joan in her movies:

All I Do Is Dream of You

Everything I Have Is Yours

Chant of the Jungle

Always and Always

Gotta Feelin' for You

How Long Will It Last?

 

 

 

 

The Best of Everything